Healthcare Realty Raises 2026 FFO Outlook Again

The Tip Desk · October 31, 2026 · 2 min read

Same-store cash NOI growth of 5.1% matched the second-quarter rate as the company lifted full-year Normalized FFO guidance to $1.65–$1.67 a share.

Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (HR), the largest public pure-play owner of U.S. medical outpatient buildings, reported third-quarter Normalized FFO of $0.42 a share and again raised its full-year 2026 outlook.

The company lifted 2026 Normalized FFO guidance to $1.65 to $1.67 a share, a $0.02 increase at the midpoint from July’s $1.62 to $1.66 range. It also raised Same Store Cash NOI growth guidance to 5.00% to 5.25%, a 75-basis-point lift at the low end and 25 basis points at the high end from July.

Same-store cash NOI growth held at 5.1% in the third quarter, matching the second-quarter rate after a 6.9% print in the first quarter. Tenant retention slipped to 88.0% from 88.5%. Cash leasing spreads averaged 8.6%, versus 4.8% in the second quarter.

Lease executions totaled 1.5 million square feet across 329 new and renewal leases, matching the second quarter after 2.0 million square feet in the first quarter. New lease executions rose to 430,000 square feet from 350,000. Weighted average lease term was 5.9 years with 3.1% average annual escalators.

GAAP net loss was $15.8 million, or $0.05 a share, versus a $0.13 a share loss in the second quarter. NAREIT FFO was $0.38 a share. Funds available for distribution were $110 million, a 76% payout ratio.

Since the second quarter, the company acquired $211 million of assets, about $42 million at share, in its strategic joint venture with KKR, including two Class A medical office buildings in Charleston, South Carolina, for $56 million and a 33,000-square-foot MOB in Seattle for $17 million. It sold $68 million of assets, bringing year-to-date dispositions to $136 million. Selected sales included a $36 million direct sale of a 59,000-square-foot MOB in Atlanta and two Chicago properties for $23 million; upon completing a remaining Chicago sale, the company said it will have fully exited that market.

Net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 5.5x as of September 30, 2026, versus a 5.6x run-rate figure reported after the second quarter. Liquidity was about $1.6 billion across the revolving facility (net of commercial paper issuance), delayed draw term loan, and cash.

In the third quarter and early October, the company repurchased 4.2 million shares at an average $17.74 for $75 million. On October 26 it renewed its share-repurchase authorization for the next 12 months at up to $500 million. The board approved a $0.24 a share common dividend payable November 20.